Golf club carrier

ABSTRACT

A golf club carrier having a plurality of parallel golf club receiving tubes which are mounted at one end on a base member and are bound at the other end by a collar member, both members mounted on a supporting spine. The base member has a plurality of spaced projections over which the lower ends of the tubes have a stretch fit, the expanded lower end portions of the tubes being releasably clamped to their respective projections by a clamping yoke which is moved into wedging with said lower end of the tubes by a screw connector extending through the base member.

United States Patent Nevarcl Feb. 18, 1975 GOLF CLUB CARRIER PrimaryExaminer-Herbert F. Ross [76] Inventor: William Kenningale Nevard, SuiteAgent or Flrm carver and Company 505, 615 7 Ave., New Westminster,Britlsh Columbia, Canada [57] I ABSTRACT [22] Flled: 1974 A golf clubcarrier having a plurality of parallel golf [21] Appl. No.: 434,504 clubreceiving tubes which are mounted at one end on a base member and arebound at the other end by a 52 us. 01. 150/15 Follarfnember membersmoumed 9 a P mg spine. The base member has a. plurality of spaced [51]llnt. Cl A63b 55/04 [58] Field of Search 150/1 5 R 1 5 B l 5 CPl'OjeCtlOl'lS over which the lower ends of the tubes have a stretchfit, the expanded lower end portions of [56] References Cited the tubesbeing releasably clamped to their respective pro ectlons by a clampingyoke which is moved into UNITED STATES PATENTS wedging with said lowerend of the tubes by a screw 2,970,629 2/1961 Marten ISO/1.5 R connectorextending through the base member. 3,172,681 3/1965 Moses ISO/1.5 R X 5Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Z-9\1 r-Z9 2 2 11 I GOLF CLUB CARRIERBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The Inventionrelates to golf club carriers and in particular to light weightcarriers.

2. Prior Art Golf club carriers, commonly, take the form of an elongatedbag generally made of a heavy canvas, leather or heavy thermoplasticmaterial which are provided with carrying straps by means of which thebag can be carried on the shoulder of the player. In order to protectthe golf club grips some bags are compartmentalized, each compartmentholding one club, or the bag may be filled with light tubes, each tubebeing of a size sufficient to accept the shaft of one club.

Golf bags of this type withstand heavy usage, however, they are heavyand many players require the assistance of a caddy to carry theequipment around the golf course.

In recent years light weight carriers have developed principally for useon pitch and put courses where no more than three clubs are required.One particular form of carrier for this purpose has a plurality of lighttubes, each being ofa size sufficient to accept the shaft of one cluband which are secured in parallelism, at top and bottom to a rigid rodor spine. The tubes are usually secured to a base plate, the base platebeing secured to the spine. Prior art carriers of this type althoughbeing sufficiently light and giving adequate protection to the golf clubgrips are prone to separation of their component parts as the tubes tendto loosen on the base plate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a light weightgolf club carrier of the last mentioned type which is light, sturdy ofconstruction and which is provided with a novel base plate constructionwhich substantially avoids separation of the base plate and the tubes.

The golf carrier of the present invention, furthermore, is relativelyinexpensive to fabricate and in the event of breakage of its componentparts can be easily repaired or replaced.

The golf club carrier of the present invention has an elongated rigidspine having a collar secured adjacent its upper end and a base platesecured adjacent its lower end, the base plate being provided with aplurality of spaced upwardly extending projections, and a plurality oftubes disposed in parallelism, bound by the collar adjacent their upperends and having stretch fit over the base plate projections at theirlower ends. A clamping yoke fitting between the tubes is moved intowedging engagement with the extended lower ends said adjacent tubes bymeans of a screw type tension element extending upwards from the baseplate.

A detailed description following, related to the drawings, givesexemplificationof apparatus according to the invention which, however,is capable of expression in means other than those particularlydescribed and illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the golfbag of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of FIG. I,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, with portions brokenaway for purposes of clarity,

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION ter which is bowed near its upper extremity toprovide a carrying handle 13. A sleeve 14 which can be rubber or asuitable thermoplastic fits over the carrying handle 13 and the spine 12extends below the base plate 11 and is pointed at its lower end 15..

A plurality of elongated, thin walled tubes severally 16, being three innumber, are arranged in parallelism and extend longitudinally of thespine. The tubes are bound compactly by the collar adjacent their upperends, severally l7, and are connected to the base plate at their lowerends, severally 18. The tubes can be formed of a light weight materialsuch as a suitable thermoplastic or a light metal such as aluminum andare of size sufficient to slideably accept, without bind ing, the shaftof a golf club.

The base plate 11, see FIGS. 2 and 3, which can be cast aluminum forruggedness andl lightness, has three hollow frusto-conical, upwardlytapering, hollow projections, severally 19, having about a 2 taper whichare disposed so that their axes lie on the apeces of an equilateraltriangle. Outside diameter of the projections, at their upper ends, issubstantially the same as the inside diameter of the tubes 16. Outersurfaces of the projections are also roughened.

The base also has an upwardly extending tubular collar 21 through whichthe spine 12 slideably extends. The collar being provided withdiametrically opposed aligned openings 23. The spine 12 has a transversecentral passage which when brought into registery with the openings 23accepts a cotter pin 24.

The collar 10 which can also be of cast aluminum for rigidity andlightness is shaped to conform to the triangular disposition of thetubes, and binds the tubes in a compact bundle. The collar 10 like thebase, has an opening 26 through which the spine slideably extends andwhich is connected to the spine by a cotter pin 27.

The tubes 16 have a stretch fit over the projections 19 so as to provideexpanded lower end portions, severally 29, which have an upward tapercorresponding to the taper of the projections. If thermoplastic tubesare used the lower end portions 29 are heated until they become slightlyplastic and then thrust over the projections. Thin walled aluminum tubescan also be used, however, in this case the lower ends would be providedwith longitudinal slits so as to facilitate expansion.

A machine screw 31 extends upwards through a suitable counter sunkaperture 32 positioned centrally between the projections and threadedlyengages the threads of a suitably tapped hole which is located centrally of a trefoil shaped clamping yoke 34 which fits within the bundleof tubes 16. The clamping yoke has three tube engaging faces 35 whichare curved and tapered to provide intimate engagement with the outersurfaces of the expanded lower end portions 29 of the tubes. Thedimensions of the clamping yoke is such that it can, by appropriatelytightening the screw, be drawn downwards into wedging engagement withthe three tubes so that the tubes are pinched between the yoke and theprojections. The connection of the tubes and the base, it is seen, isnot only substantially proof against separation but also results in astructure in which the tubes themselves act as structural members toprevent bending of the spine under hard usage.

The carrier as described is light and rigid. Furthermore, good drainageis provided by the hollow projections on which the shafts of the clubsrest and materials of construction are substantially non-perishable.

It is to be understood that although a carrier capable of carrying threeclubs has been described the invention is not so limited. Carriershaving any desired number of tubes can be constructed along the lines ofthe invention with the tubes arranged either linearly or in a circlewith the clamping yokes having a configuration matching the dispositionof the tubes.

I claim:

1. A golf club carrier comprising:

a a plurality of elongated tubes disposed in parallelism, each beingadapted to receive the shaft of a golf club,

12 a rigid spine extending substantially longitudinally of the tubes,

a collar secured to the spine embracing the tubes adjacent the upperends of the latter,

d a base plate assembly connected to the spine in a spaced relationshiprelative to the collar, the base plate assembly having:

1' a plurality of projections over each one of which a lower end portionof a tube has a stretch fit,

ii a clamping yoke having a wedge fit between the lower end portions ofthe tubes,

iii a threaded connector engaging the base plate assembly and the clampfor drawing the clamp into wedging engagement with said lower endportions of the tubes.

2. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which the projections arefrusto-conical and in which the clamping yoke has arcuate tube engagingfaces matching the curvature and taper of the projections.

3. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which the projections are hollow.

4. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which the spine projects below thebase plate assembly and is pointed at its lower end.

5. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which the projections have aroughened exterior surface for enhancing frictional engagement with thetubes.

1. A golf club carrier comprising: a a plurality of elongated tubesdisposed in parallelism, each being adapted to receive the shaft of agolf club, b a rigid spine extending substantially longitudinally of thetubes, c a collar secured to the spine embracing the tubes adjacent theupper ends of the latter, d a base plate assembly connected to the spinein a spaced relationship relative to the collar, the base plate assemblyhaving: i a plurality of projections over each one of which a lower endportion of a tube has a stretch fit, ii a clamping yoke having a wedgefit between the lower end portions of the tubes, iii a threadedconnector engaging the base plate assembly and the clamp for drawing theclamp into wedging engagement with said lower end portions of the tubes.2. A carrier as claimed in claim 1 in which the projections arefrusto-conical and in which the clamping yoke has arcuate tube engagingfaces matching the curvature and taper of the projections.
 3. A carrieras claimed in claim 1 in which the projections are hollow.
 4. A carrieras claimed in claim 1 in which the spine projects below the base plateassembly and is pointed at its lower end.
 5. A carrier as claimed inclaim 1 in which the projections have a roughened exterior surface forenhancing frictional engagement with the tubes.